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Diablo
"The seven Evils are one within me! I am '''Legion!'"'' :- Diablo to the Nephalem, prior to their final battle Al'Diabalos, the Lord of Terror, known more commonly as Diablo, is the youngest of the three Prime Evils as well as the main antagonist and titular character of the Diablo game series, being its namesake. Amongst all demons known to humankind, he is considered the most powerful due to his ability to instill fear into the hearts of people with his name alone. Biography and Baal]] Diablo, his brothers and their immediate underlings are said by some to have been born from the heads of the dragon Tathamet. Diablo's evil, actions and methodology are best understood in the context of creating and fostering terror and fear, for its own sake and not specifically for conquest or power. The Realm of Terror within the Burning Hells is sparsely populated, for even demonkind cannot stand against its unrelenting torment. Deckard Cain states that while Mephisto is the most intelligent of the Three, Diablo is the most creative, to the extent that he names Diablo an "artist of terror." The Dark Exile Diablo and his brothers were banished to Sanctuary by the Lesser Evils, who rose up and cast them out in frustration for seemingly abandoning the Eternal Conflict (although Izual states that the Three in fact engineered the Exile to further their own plans). The Horadrim were formed with the assistance of Tyrael to combat the threat and seal the Prime Evils within the Soulstones. Diablo was the last of the three to be caught, by a group of Horadrim led by Jered Cain, in what would eventually become the kingdom of Khanduras. The Horadrim sealed the Soulstone deep within a cave system, then built a monastery to stand guard over the location, though their order would eventually fall to ruin. Freedom Diablo spent two centuries slowly corrupting the Soulstone that imprisoned him. In time, he was able to extend his influence into the surrounding area and possess both King Leoric and his archbishop, Lazarus. The King proved too strong to fully possess, so the Lord of Terror took his son, Prince Albrecht. Diablo then began to shape an outpost of Hell within the catacombs that ran beneath the town of Tristram. By spreading terror into the surrounding countryside, the Demon was able to attract many heroes who came to cleanse the land of evil. By the time the strongest of these heroes, Aidan, reached this goal, though, he had become fully influenced by the power of Diablo. In his twisted state, Aidan believed that the only way to fully control the Demon was to plunge Diablo's Soulstone into his own head. This, of course, was exactly what Diablo had planned all along, as the Demon now had an even stronger body to use to find his brothers and complete his ultimate plan... Diablo eventually possessed Aidan and went to free his two brothers, Mephisto and Baal. Diablo (as Aidan) met Adria the Witch, who knew immediately that Aidan was possessed by Diablo, and swore eternal servitude to Him. Eventually, a second party of adventurers confronted Diablo and killed him. This time however, his Soulstone was destroyed in the Hellforge, in an attempt to put an end to his evil permanently. Resurrection Unfortunately, the destruction of his Soulstone was not enough to end his evil. Upon the completion of the Black Soulstone by Zoltun Kulle, the souls of all the slain Evils are drawn to the Stone including Diablo (the location of souls after the slaying of the Evils is still unknown). Adria betrayed humanity by helping Diablo possess Leah, the vessel Adria bore 20 years before, the result of conception of Adria and Diablo. Now that all evils are in one body, Diablo is reincarnated as the Prime Evil and had begun his assault in the High Heavens. Unfortunately for him, Diablo was defeated by the Nephalem and cast down from Heaven. His soul was entrapped inside the Black Soulstone along with other Evils. Since Malthael had destroyed the Black Soulstone and subjugated Diablo's essence, his death meant that Diablo is free and able to revive once more. Physical Appearance In Diablo I, he appears as a giant humanoid demon with red skin, claws on both hands and feet and a multitude of spikes protruding from his back and head. In Diablo II, his appearance changed a bit. When the player encounters him in Hell he has grown a tail (coupled with more spikes) and his features are more animalistic. His movement has also become more beast-like: in the first Diablo he only walks upright, whereas in Diablo II he can also charge on all fours. His appearance in Diablo III is very different and much more feminine. After all of the seven Great Evils are sealed in the Black Soulstone, it is revealed that Adria had actually been corrupted by Diablo, having born him a child when he possessed the Dark Wanderer. She uses Leah, Diablo's daughter, as the vessel for the Black Soulstone. Diablo is reborn as the Prime Evil, essentially Tathamet reborn. He lays siege to the High Heavens and begins to corrupt the Crystal Arch, but is foiled by the efforts of the very group of heroes he had manipulated into reuniting the demons in the Black Soulstone. His plans had been undone by mere mortals. As he plummeted from the Crystal Arch, Diablo's body disintegrated, leaving the Black Soulstone to fall into the clouds of the High Heavens. Unfortunately, while the essence is still entrapped within the stone, it was claimed by Malthael as Tyrael and the new Horadrim had come close to hiding the stone from all eyes. His appearance in the third game has brought about minor controversy, with some players wondering why Diablo possesses a feminine form. The answer could lie in the fact that his current host happens to be female. Another possible suggestion could be that as the culmination of all Seven Great Evils, his appearance would naturally take on a slightly different form: *Iconic spikes growing from the spine, red color of skin, as well as spiked tail, from Diablo. *Wing-like bladed spikes towering above the head and growing from the arms, from Baal. *One pair of horns and opened ribcage from Mephisto. *Breasts and hooves from Andariel. *Insectoid jaws from Duriel. *One more pair of wing-like bones from Azmodan. *Two more mouths on shoulders from Belial. (It is also believed that these are his two brothers more prominent presence) *Shape of the 'crown' horns that are growing directly from the skull appears to be a combination of horns that were once borne by Belial, Baal, Mephisto and Diablo. As the Sin War and Kingdom of Shadow stories show, Diablo was (and likely still is) capable of shapeshifting, taking on forms that appeal to the fears of his opponents. The Wrath animation depicts him in Pandemonium initially as a shapeless entity of red smoke before coalescing into his familiar Diablo II form. This would seem to suggest that this form is one Diablo favours and thus the one he assumes in his first two appearances, and that a shapeless red smoke is his true form. It seems having a host limits his shapeshifting abilities in some way, as their physiques play a part in shaping his form on the mortal plane. When using the young Albrecht his form is close to his favoured one, though lacking a tail, perhaps as a result of his host's smaller size. When using the older and stronger Aidan he was able to assume his favoured form exactly, being a bit larger and more muscular, as well as having his tail present. His use of Leah, in conjunction with the absorption of the Black Soulstone, lead to a slim and rather feminine physique, with broad hips and thin waist and even some hints of a bust in form of rounded flaps of armoured skin. The absorption of all the Great Evils also leads to his form taking aspects of Tathamet, the original Prime Evil. Powers and Abilities Diablo is the most powerful demon known to Sanctuary.Diablo III Burning Premium Tee, J!NX. Accessed on 2014-01-18 As the Lord of Terror, Diablo's greatest power lies within utilizing his enemies' fears, and due to his aspect he's also incapable of feeling fear himself. He rules over his demon servants through his sheer ability of terror, and to many he is the most terrifying being of all. Diablo is capable of taking on almost any shape, whatever suits him best at the time. It is unclear whether the forms of him we see in the games are his true appearance, or if he lacks a true appearance altogether, though he seems to favour his most known one. In terms of physical strength, Diablo is the strongest of the Three and as such the strongest known demon, although he prefers to avoid direct contact if it is possible and rather likes to work from behind the scenes. However he controls the powers of fire with ease, and can cast a powerful wave of red lightning that destroys almost everything in its path. Not to mention literally rain hell down on his enemies if the situation calls for it. In Diablo 3, Diablo has the Black Soulstone within him which transformed him into the Prime Evil with the power of all the Seven Evils of Hell or to be more precise he became Tathamet reborn. With this power Diablo was able to defeat the Archangel of Valor, Imperius, in combat with relative ease and shattered the Diamond Gate with a roar. He subsequently corrupted the Crystal Arch, rendering all the angels of Heaven without power. While his brothers Baal and Mephisto prefer to play power-mongering games from the shadows through scores of minions, Diablo seems content to be the pure destructive power behind their machinations. This is not to say that Diablo lacks the intelligence of his brothers (as he rarely speaks), but being the youngest, he somewhat defers to their direction and suggestions in the course of their scheming. In-game In other games Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne A reference to the Lord of Terror is made in the final annoy-speech of Illidan Stormrage, the Night Elven Demon Hunter who compares his transformation into an almost demon-like form with the visage of Diablo. :"Wings, horns, hooves ... What are we saying, is this Diablo?"" - Illidan Stormrage This speech fragment is slightly inaccurate considering that Diablo has neither wings or hoofs, but it could be a reference to the World of Diablo and not the Prime Evil himself. This could also possibly be in reference to the Balrog demon which is similar in appearance to the form Illidan takes. Diablo also appears as a playable character in the Azeroth Grand Prix optional scenario which is included in the patch, v1.22a. He represents the realm of the Diablo universe in this map. :Moderate Acceleration, Good Top Speed, Moderate HP :Diablo, Lord of Terror was excited upon hearing about the Azeroth Grand Prix and wanted something fast and durable. Void dragons were too annoying to deal with, so he turned his attention to the sentinel infernal contraptions As mentioned in the description, Diablo rides on an Infernal Contraption, a type of demonic siege weapon from the Warcraft universe. He possesses 600 HP and his honk sounds like a tractor trailer's. During his transformation in the Diablo II Act IV cinematic Diablo lets loose a roar that is heard from the Frost Wyrm (undead dragon unit in Warcraft III). World of Warcraft Diablo makes a small appearance in World of Warcraft as a pet. Mini Diablo is chosen among three small pets as the reward for a special level 1 quest: Welcome!. This quest is only available with the World of Warcraft Collector's Edition. This edition is no longer sold in stores, making this an ultra-rare pet. Other choices include the Panda Cub and Zergling. Diablo is not the only character from the Diablo Universe to be made a pet in WoW, Tyrael appearing also in WoW, again as a special prize, can be collected by entering a code to an NPC in either Orgrimmar or Stormwind. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty A Diablo unit exists in the game and can be placed in player made maps with the game's map editor. Diablo also has a cameo in one of the StarCraft II campaign missions, where he appears to control the rising and lowering of a deadly sea of lava. Heroes of the Storm :For the detailed information, see the respective article on Heroes of the Storm Wikia Diablo is a playable hero in Heroes of the Storm.2013-11-08, BlizzCon 2013 – Heroes of the Storm – Fact Sheet. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2013-11-10 As a reference towards Diablo III, his mount is a white, rainbow-haired pony. He retains his iconic Apocalypse and Red Lightning Hose attacks, as well as Fire Stomp and Shadow Charge skills from the third game. Black Soulstone is his passive trait that allows him to resurrect faster. Diablo's appearance in HotS is closest to that in the second game. Oddly in the cinematic trailer, he appears in his Diablo III appereance. Videos Gallery Image:Diablo Head.jpg|Diablo III concept artwork showing Diablo's head Image:Diablo Head1.jpg|Version of the previous image that has been edited to better show the details Image:DiabloArchive.jpg|Artwork for the cover of the Diablo Archive Diablo-2.png|Diablo Image:Diablo1.gif Image:Diabloblood.gif|Diablo's death animation in Diablo I diablo3.gif diablo2.gif Diablo_lord_of_Terror_by_FredrikH.jpg|Diablo head 6d6e726e0c64ac15aeddeba6dcad9fa-d56near.jpg|Statue of Diablo behind-the-scenes-wrath-17.jpg|Diablo appearance in Wrath Diablo_3D_render2.jpg|Diablo 3D render from Diablo II Terror_diablo.jpg|Diablo, as seen in the Diablo III trailer wrath-screenshot-94.jpg|Diablo Wrath screenshot Images (365).jpg|Diablo from Diablo I diablo death.jpg|Diablo death animation in Diablo II Screenshot030.jpg|Diablo moments before his destruction by a Barbarian Event47 BloodRune.png|The blood rune used to unleash Diablo in Diablo III BloodRuneAdria.png|Diablo's rune he uses to teleport the Nephalem to the Realm of Terror Trivia *In PC World, Diablo was voted as #14 of the top 47 "most diabolical videogame villains of all time."2008-04-02,The 47 Most Diabolical Video-Game Villains of All Time. PC World Australia, accessed on 2013-10-01 *Diablo is the Spanish word for "devil", which is in turn taken from the Latin word "Diabolus", which also means "devil". The original root may be related to the Ancient Greek word, διάβολος (diabolos), which meant "slanderer" or "accuser" (in modern Greek, its meaning is cognate to the Spanish). *Diablo's quote "I am Legion!" is a reference to the Bible, New Testament, Mark 5:9: And He (Jesus) asked him (the demon possessing a man), "What is thy name?" And he answered, saying, "'My name is Legion': for we are many." *There is an achievement in game named "Punch Diablo" (which requires the player to do exactly as its name suggests: hit Diablo with their bare hands, i.e. basic attack with no weapon equipped). It may be a reference to the trope named "Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?". *It seems that in the games, Diablo's hosts were all of the same family: Albrecht, Aidan and Leah. *Diablo alongside with the Witch Doctor makes a cameo appearance in the Playstation Commercial "Greatness Awaits". Merchandise *A Diablo vinyl figure shipped in November, 2013.Funko POP Vinyl Figures – StarCraft II World of Warcraft Diablo III Pre-Orders. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2013-10-01 *A Diablo figure in Blizzard's Cute But Deadly range was released at the 2013 BlizzCon.2013-10-25, Inside the BlizzCon 2013 Goody Bag. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2013-10-27 *A 9″ action figure of Diablo was released in March, 2014.2013-12-02, Pre-Orders Open for Diablo III Lord of Terror Deluxe 9″ Action Figure. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2014-01-15 As of July 2014, a Shadow of Diablo figurine was announced for Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con Blizzard Showcase Panel Recap *A mini-figure of Diablo, based on his appearance in Heroes of the Storm, will be released in May, 2015.2015-02-19, Pre-Order FUNKO Heroes of the Storm Mystery Minis Mini-Figures. Blizzplanet, accessed on 2015-02-20 References ru:Диабло Category:Prime Evils